Device for constructing and erecting building walls



April 21, 1964 R. J. SULLIVAN 3,129,481

DEVICE FOR coNsTRUCTING AND ERECTING BUILDING wALLs Filed April 3, 19622 Sheets-Sheet 1 i4 iff;

'glblew n ,-334 47 W will, INVENTOR.

April 21, 1964 R. J. SULLIVAN 3,129,481

DEVICE FDR coNsIRucIING AND ERECTING BUILDING wALLs Filed April 3, 19622 Sheets-Shea?l 2 r l INVENTOR.

f /VaZef JC' Saz/.773442,

United States Patent 3,129,431 DEVICE FOR CONSTRUCTING ANI) EREC'IINGBUILDING WALLS Robert Joseph Sullivan, 1223 Cadieux,

rosse Pointe 30, Mieli. Filed Apr. 3, 1962, Ser. No. 184,900 8 Claims.(Cl. 25-1) This invention relates to building constructions, andparticularly to a frame structure in which a concrete side of a buildingmay be constructed and swung to vertical position upon a foundation.

Various attempts have been made to pour a concrete side wall and standthe cured wall on a foundation. This required heavy and costly equipmentwhich odset the advantage in cost which such type of structure provides.

The present invention overcomes this increase in cost by mounting aframe for the concrete building wall on a central longitudinallydisposed tube which is journaled on supports which permit the platformto swing to a vertical position and lowered to rest the cured side wallupon the foundation which is disposed below the tube and slightlyforward thereof. With this arrangement, the heavy equipment usedheretofore to raise the cured concrete wall to a vertical position uponits bottom edge is no longer required and the platform structure thusprovided may be employed over and over again.

Accordingly, the main objects of the invention are: to mold a concreteside of a building on a platform which tilts about supporting trunnionsto a vertical position from which it is lowered onto a fundation; toconstruct a platform the length of a wall of a building and of a widthequal to the height of the wall and mount the platform on a tube whichis journaled on jacks about which the platform will tilt and move to avertical position above a foundation on which it is lowered by thejacks; to build a platform on heavy cross members mounted on a centraltube and enclosed by members forming a boxlike structure in which doorand window frames, electric conduit and outlet boxes, reinforcingelements and other devices may be disposed and surrounded by concrete toform a building wall when cured and moved to vertical position by thepreponderance of weight at the bottom edge which rotates the tube whenthe edge is released; to provide a slab of styrofoam or other materialdisposed between the iner and outer wall surfaces which may be removedor retained therein for insulating the area between the surfaces; toprovide rods at the ends of the concrete walls to be disposed at thecorners and joined with the upstanding reinforcing rod of the foundationto strengthen the concrete at the corners when completing the buildingwall construction, and, in general, to construct and erect a Wall on astructure which is simple in construction and economical of manufactureand use.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will bespecifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for abetter understanding of the invention, to the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE l is a plan View, with a part broken away, embodying features ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional View of the structure illustrated inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, broken sectional View of the structureillustrated in FIG. l, taken along the line 3 3 thereof;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, broken sectional view of the structureillustrated in FIG. l, taken on the line 4 4 thereof;

FIG. 5 is a sectional View of a corner of a building showing the joinderof the two adjacent wall portions thereof;

FIG. 6 is a broken perspective view of the structure illustrated in FIG.l, and

FIG. 7 is a view of a poured wall after being swung into verticalposition on a foundation.

Referring to the figures, the device of the present invention embodies aheavy frame made up of a plurality of transversely disposed beams 10joined at the opposite edges by longitudinally extending beams 11 whichare secured thereto by angle elements 12. A platform 13 of wood or othermaterial is secured to the top of the transversely disposed beams 1t) toform a flat surface. A heavy tube 14 is secured to the under side of thetransversely disposed beams 10 by brackets 15 secured to the beams bybolts 16 and to the tube 14 by the plates 17 when secured to thebrackets by bolts 18. The ends of the tube project beyond the platformto form trunnions which rest upon a concaved end 19 of a plurality ofjacks 21, as illustrated in FlG. l. The tube 14 is disposed off centertoward the top portion of the building wall to provide a preponderanceof weight at the bottom edge, the tube being shiftable by the provisionof slots 2t) in the brackets 15. Any number of jacks may be employedalong the length of the tube 14, the number depending upon the length ofthe wall which is to be poured. As illustrated in the figures, a jack isemployed at the ends of the tube 14 and also at the center thereof. Aplurality of jacks 22 support the edges of the platform at the bottomand top to retain it in horizontal position. The jacks stabilize theplatform when the frame, reinforcing and other elements are placedthereon and the concrete is poured therein.

The platform is enclosed at the edges by planks 24 and 25 at the top andbottom wall edges and by planks 26 at the end edges. The planks 26 havea groove forming plate 27 on the inner face thereof having sloppingedges which produce a recess 28 in the ends of the wall. Holes aredrilled through the planks 26 and the plates 27 through which aplurality of pins 29 extend for reinforcing the corner joints with theends of the walls.

On the inner face of the top plank 25, a header board 31 is placedhaving nails 32 extending inwardly therefrom to which the concrete willanchor for permanently securing the header board to the top edge of thewall. Various openings may be made in the wall, herein illustrated as bya door frame 33 and two window frames 34. These may be frames of roughconstruction as normally provided in a wall or may be a permanent typeof frame made of wood, metal or other nishing material to which thewindows and door may be directly applied. Blocks 35 temporarily locatethe frames on the platform. A suitable reinforcing material may be laidupon the platform between the frame, and concrete 36 is then poured onthe platform and dressed to the plane of the top edge of the planks 24,25 and 26 and the frames 33 and 34.

Electric conduits may be laid on the platform having the lower endsconnected to outlet boxes 38 which are spaced from the platform so as tohave the open face thereof flush with the top edge of the planks andframes. The boxes herein illustrated are for a plug outlet near thefloor and for a switch outlet near the door. The top of the conduitsextends through the header board 31 in position to have the electricwires fed downwardly therethrough to the outlet boxes.

The plank 24 has flanges 39 of angle members 40 disposed in engagementwith the inner face thereof. The adjacent iange 41 of the angle memberhas a rod 42 extending therefrom. A turnbuckle 43 is threaded on eachrod 42 and to a rod 44 which has a collar 45 on the opposite end whichis disposed over the tube 14. A plurality of flanges 39 connect thebottom of the Wall directly to the tube ld and prevent any relativemovement of the wall with the platform or the tube.

After the concrete was hardened, the plank Z4 is removed along with thejacks 22 at the top end and the jacks 22 at the bottom edge are loweredfor starting the angular movement of the platform and wall fromhorizontal to vertical position. A block and tackle 52 is secured bysuitable means, herein illustrated as by a loop of rope 53, to thelongitudinally extending beam at the top of the Wall and the load istaken thereby as the jacks 22 at the bottom edge are further lowered andremoved. The further tilting movement of the platform is controlled bythe block and tacirle through the feeding of the rope therethrough untilthe platform and wall have been swung to vertical position, asillustrated in FIG. 3. The jacks Zi are then lowered to lower theconcrete wall directly upon the foundation t), after which theturnbucltles 43 are loosened and the flanges 39 of the angle member 49are removed rearwardly from the bottom of the Wall. The jacks 2l arethen removed along with the planks 25 and 26 and the platform isseparated from the rear face of the wall which is left standing, asillustrated in FG. 7, with suitable braces applied thereto, not hereinillustrated.

The four walls of the building are constructed in this manner, beingspaced at the corners as illustrated in FIG. 5. Suitable means, hereinillustrated as a pair of L-members 46, join the inner and outer faces ofthe walls with the reinforcing rods 29 extending into the area ofreinforcing rods 47 in the foundation which are retained inpredetermined relation to each other by the wires 4? which are woundthereabout. The concrete is then poured within the space between theends of the walls and the L-members 4:6, and sections of the headerboard 31 may be placed thereon in continuation of those provided on theWall sections. The concrete extends within the recesses 23 to form alocking continuation of the Walls at the corners when the L-members 46are removed.

It is within the purview of the invention to provide openings 49 withinthe wall by the use of removable members such as lengths of metal whichdo not absorb the moisture and swell, as might occur with wood orsimilar materials. Plastic strips 5l made of styrofoam or other suitableplastic material of closed cellular construction may be employed withinthe wall for preventing the passage of moisture therethrough. Thenotches remaining in the bottom of the wall when the flanges 39 areremoved may be lilled with concrete and the frame locating blocks 35 onthe platform may be removed so that the planks 24, 2S and 26 may beagain secured thereto and another wall formed thereon either with orwithout the frames. When two opposite walls are of greater length thanthe end Walls, the same platform may be used for constructing the walls.End planks 26 are employed having a width which is equal to thethickness of the wall placed upon their edges directly upon the platforminwardly of the ends thereof. With this arrangement, the Wall will beformed outside of the building area and will be erected upon the endsections of the foundation, with the surface adjacent to the platformbecoming the outer surface of the wall.

With the device of the present invention, a building may be erected at aminimum cost by employing the same device for construction and erectionof the four walls thereof with any number of frames for windows anddoors therein, along with any number of electric or fluid conduits orother elements. When the four walls have been erected in this manner,only a short time will be required to pour the four corners w ch may bedone simultaneously by employing a pair of the L-members at each of thecorners. The Walls of the building thus constructed are completelyreinforced throughout the length of each Wall and at the corners and arigid durable wall structure for a building is thereby provided at aminimum cost and Without the employment of any expensive machinery whichwould add substantially to the cost of the resulting building.

What is claimed is:

l. In a device for constructing and erecting a wall of a building, aplatform having edge members disposed at the top, bottom and two sidesthereof, supporting means disposed substantially along the longitudinalcentral portion of the platform, means rotatably retaining saidsupporting means for tilting the platform from horizontal to verticalposition, spaced flange members abutting the inner face of said bottomedge member, and means se*- cured to the supporting means and to saidflange membersfor directly connecting the bottom of the wall to thesupportlng means.

2. ln a device for constructing and erecting a wall of a building, aplatform having edge members disposed at the top, bottom and two sidesthereof, supporting means disposed substantially along the longitudinalcentral portion of the platform, means rotatably retaining saidsupporting means for tilting the platform from horizontal to verticalposition, spaced flange members abutting the inner face of said bottomedge member, means secured to the supporting means and to said flangemembers for directly connecting the bottom of the Wall to the supportingmeans, and a header board releasably disposed against the inner face ofthe top edge member having anchoring means on its inner face to be apermanent part of the top edge of the Wall.

3. In a device for constructing and erecting a wall of a building, aplatform having edge members disposed at the top, bottom and two sidesthereof, supporting means disposed substantially along the longitudinalcentral portion of the platform, means rotatably retaining saidsupporting means for tilting the platform from horizontal to verticalposition, spaced flange members abutting the inner face of said bottomedge member, means secured to the supporting means and to said angemembers for directly connecting the bottom of the Wall to the supportingmeans, a header board releasably disposed against the inner face of thetop edge member having headed ends of nails extend from its inner faceto be a permanent part of the top edge of the Wall.

4. In a device for constructing and erecting a wall of a building, aplatform having edge members disposed at the top, bottom and two sidesthereof, supporting means disposed substantially along the longitudinalcentral portion of the platform, means rotatably retainingsaid'supporting means for tilting the platform from horizontal tovertical position, spaced flange members abutting the inner face of saidbottom edge member, means secured to the supporting means and to saidflange members for directly connecting the bottom of the wall to thesupporting means, reinforcing means on said plaform for said concreteWall, and recess forming strips on the inner face of the members at thesides of the platform through which short rods extend for reinforcingthe wall ends when the side members and strips are removed from theplatform.

5. ln a device for constructing and erecting a wall of a building, aplatform having edge members disposed at the top, bottom and two sidesthereof, supporting means disposed substantially along the longtiudinalcentral portion of the plaform, means rotatably retaining saidsupporting means for tilting the platform from horizontal to verticalposition, spaced flange members abutting the inner face of said bottomedge member, means secured to the supporting means and to said flangemembers for directly connecting the bottom of the wall to the supportingmeans, means for retaining said platform in horizontal position, andmeans for controlling the tilting of the platform from horizontal tovertical position by the preponderance of weight at the bottom portionof the wall; after the bottom edge members have been removed the wall issupported on said spaced ange members.

6. In a device for constructing and erecting a wall of a building, aplatform having edge members disposed at the top, bottom and two sidesthereof, supporting means disposed substantially along the longitudinalcentral portion of the platform, means rotatably retaining saidsupporting means for tilting the platform from horizontal to verticalposition, spaced flange members abutting the inner face of said bottomedge member, means secured to the supporting means and to said flangemembers for directly connecting the bottom of the Wall to the supportingmeans, means for retaining said plaform in horizontal position, meansfor controlling the tilting of the platform from horizontal to verticalposition by the preponderance of weight at the bottom portion of thewall after the horizontal retaining means have been removed, reinforcingmeans on said platform for said concrete wall, recess forming strips onthe inner face of the side members through which short rods extend,means for lowering the supporting means when the platform and wall arein vertical position to set the wall on a foundation, and means forjoining the adjacent ends of the Walls at the four corners of thebuilding by the use of spaced L-members which encompass the rodsextending from the ends of the walls and those extending upwardly fromthe corners of the foundation.

7. In a device for constructing and erecting a wall of a building, aplatform having edge members disposed at the top, bottom and two sidesthereof, supporting means disposed substantially along the longitudinalcentral portion of the platform, means rotatably retaining saidsupporting means for tilting the platform from horizontal to verticalposition, spaced ange members abutting the inner face of said bottomedge member, means secured to the supporting means and to said flangemembers for directly connecting the bottom of the wall to the supportingmeans, and removable elements forming hollow sections disposed midwaybetween the inner and outer faces of the wall throughout the lengththereof about which the concrete is poured.

8. In a device for constructing and erecting a wall of a building, aplatform having edge members disposed at the top, bottom and two sidesthereof, supporting means disposed substantially along the longitudinalcentral p0rtion of the platform, means rotatably retaining saidsupporting means for tilting the platform from horizontal to verticalposition, spaced flange members abutting the inner face of said bottomedge member, means secured to the supporting means and to said flangemembers for directly connecting the bottom of the wall to the supportingmeans, and elements forming hollow sections disposed midway between theinner and outer faces of the wall throughout the length thereof, saidelements embodying cellular slabs about which the concrete is poured.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS705,156 Stevens July 22, 1902 1,148,246 Marvin July 27, 1915 1,326,400Halverson Dec. 30, 1919 1,555,414 Hale Sept. 29, 1925 1,619,570 DucheminMar. l, 1927 2,416,559 Wilson Feb. 25, 1947 2,477,320 Tyroler July 26,1949 2,732,177 Ludowici Jan. 24, 1956 2,858,031 Garmon Oct. 28, 1958FOREIGN PATENTS 1,132,507 France Nov. 5, 1956 227,561 Australia Apr. 6,1960

1. IN A DEVICE FOR CONSTRUCTING AND ERECTING A WALL OF A BUILDING, APLATFORM HAVING EDGE MEMBERS DISPOSED AT THE TOP, BOTTOM AND TWO SIDESTHEREOF, SUPPORTING MEANS DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG THE LONGITUDINALCENTRAL PORTION OF THE PLATFORM, MEANS ROTATABLY RETAINING SAIDSUPPORTING MEANS FOR TILTING THE PLATFORM FROM HORIZONTAL TO VERTICALPOSITION, SPACED FLANGE MEMBERS ABUTTING THE INNER FACE OF SAID BOTTOMEDGE MEMBER, AND MEANS SECURED TO THE SUPPORTING MEANS AND TO SAIDFLANGE MEMBERS FOR DIRECTLY CONNECTING THE BOTTOM OF THE WALL TO THESUPPORTING MEANS.